MAYOR OF LONDON WILL PUBLICLY SCREEN ASGHAR FARHADI’S THE SALESMAN ON OSCAR NIGHT

Sadiq Khan, London’s mayor, will stage a public screening of Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar-nominated film, The Salesman (2016), in Trafalgar Square on February 26, the night of the Oscars ceremony, writes Graham Bowley of the New York Times.

This screening will be the film’s British premiere. The mayor’s office is expecting a crowd of nearly 10,000 people for the event. “I’m delighted to welcome people from across the capital and beyond to share in this celebration of London as an international hub of creativity and as a beacon of diversity,” said Khan. The screening will also include a schedule of readings and speeches by directors and actors, including the director Mike Leigh. It is not clear yet, however, if Farhadi will attend.

The Iranian director stated that he would not go to the Oscars, even if he were given special permission to attend under President Trump’s travel ban, which has since been rejected unanimously by a federal appeals panel. In a statement issued yesterday, Farhadi said, “The gathering of the audience around The Salesman in this famous London square is a symbol of unity against the division and separation of people.” When The Guardian_ reported on the screening, they referred to the mayor’s gesture as a “snub” to Trump’s executive order.